Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter June 22, 2011

Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter
Wednesday, June 22, 2011


In this issue:

1) Accepted Applicants Notified!
2) Schedule In the Making
3) Call for Fashion Show & Food Vendors!
4) Call for Volunteers
5) What Local Radio Stations Do You Listen To?


1) Accepted Applicants Notified!
Greetings! Cassendre Xavier here (founder/director, BWAF) with the latest news for you about Philadelphia’s 8th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival! Please note, we’ve added an extra day to the Festival – it’s now 5 days - from Wednesday, July 27th thru Sunday, July 31, 2011.
I am thrilled to announce, also, that everyone who used our official online submissions and was accepted, was notified by email yesterday – 9 days early! (July was when it was announced that notifications would be made.)
In previous years, we have usually accepted 80% - 90% of submission applications. This year, for the first, time, all applicants who went through the online application process were accepted! Very exciting! (If you haven’t been notified by email, you may have applied offline, and will be notified by the deadline of July as stated. Please email us at BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com to speed the notification process.)
I am very excited that we have a high number of folks between ages 30-50 who are participating this year. In recent years, there have been mostly 18-24. We still have a good representation of younger folks this year, just more, um, “maturity” than we have before!
Submissions for 2011 closed weeks ago and we will soon (within days) post our Early Submissions for 2012. Please note that Early Submissions are $10, Mid Submissions $15 and Late Submissions $20. This year we had the largest number of late submissions than we ever have. While it’s nice to have the extra income, we much prefer your saving your money and applying earlier, so please check in soon and submit your application to participate next year. (Scholarships/Sliding-Scale are available for those who qualify.)


2) Schedule In the Making
Below is a press release I sent out on Monday June 20. Please spread the word and stay tuned for updates. The schedule is being created now and will be posted to our website and other online networks within the next week. You can see it in progress below. You’ll see some very exciting additions including the fabulous ensemble Wings of Worth, Sexy Parts of the Bible author Kola Boof, Workshops-Massage-Products by Vanessa Hazzard-Tillman, African & Modern Dance Classes by Shandra Staley. I am so excited that the LiCK: The Liberty City Kings (popular drag troup) will be participating this year. They are so fun! Some of our Philadelphia-based BWAF familiar faces and features will return, including O, who will again lead our Honoring Our Ancestors & Elders Ceremony as well as performing theatre. Also: poets Angel Hogan, Stephanie Durann, and the visual art of Ebony Malaika Collier as well as her poetry. Check out (and forward) the press release below!

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Cassendre Xavier, Founder & Director
Email: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org
Phone: 215-436-9702

The Black Women’s Arts Festival is gearing up for its 8th Annual Philadelphia event (Wednesday, July 27th thru Sunday July 31st)! An exciting, inclusive community event, the Black Women’s Arts Festival features multi-media artistic and creative performance and exhibits by self-identified women and girls of African heritage. Annually featured are: Music, Films, Spoken Word, Theatre, Dance, Visual Arts, Children’s Events, Workshops, Open Mics, Food, Vendors, and After Parties.

As always, all respectful persons are welcome to attend and/or volunteer or support the Black Women’s Arts Festival!

The theme of BWAF Philly 2011 is “Healing & Joy”. In addition to the creative arts, there will be a strong focus on the healing arts as well, including massage, guided meditations, and more.

With the acclaimed University City arts venue the Rotunda as its primary venue since its inception in 2003, BWAF continues with its 5-day, multi-venue event throughout Greater Philadelphia.

Festival dates, locations, and a partial schedule of event highlights are as follows:

Wednesday, July 27 – 7pm Kola Boof at Moonstone Arts Center, 110A S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 Author of “The Sexy Parts of the Bible” www.KolaBoof.com www.MoonstoneArtsCenter.org

Thursday, July 28 – 11am – 5pm Events to be announced (TBA) at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org

Thursday, July 28 – 7pm – 9pm All People’s Open Mic featuring Wings of Worth. Venue: Moonstone. www.WingsOfWorth.wordpress.com

Friday, July 29 – 11am-11pm – Events TBA at the Rotunda. 5pm-11pm: Vendors.

Saturday, July 30 – 11am – 1pm Children’s Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119 www.BigBlueMarbleBooks.com

Saturday, July 30 2pm – 11pm Events at the Rotunda including Root Chakra workshop with Vanessa Hazzard-Tillman www.phillythaiyogamassage.com, Honoring Our Ancestors & Elders Ceremony by O, and LiCK – the Liberty City Kings (award-winning queer drag king and burlesque troup) www.libertycitykings.com. More events TBA. 5pm-11pm: Vendors.

Sunday, July 31 11am – 11pm Events at the Rotunda, including Modern & African Dance Classes with Shandra Staley; Womb of Love theater performance by O. More events TBA. 5pm-11pm: Vendors.


Stay tuned for more developments! Subscribe to the official BWAF email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.


3) Call for Fashion Show & Food Vendors!
Although we have plenty of folks to fill out the beautiful schedule, there are a few features that are missing and I would love to complete. I’d love to have at least one fashion show this year at BWAF, and at least one food vendor and one smoothie vendor. I have some ideas of who to ask, but I wanted to put it out there to you. Do you, or do you know someone who fits either bill? Fashion Show and Food Vendors. Spread the word. Thanks! (Oh, and our vending registration fees are ridiculously low this year. And we’ll haggle. Email BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com or leave a voicemail message at 215-436-9702. Thanks so much!


4) Call for Volunteers
If you’d like to be part of the fun this year, and help out in one or more 2-hour volunteer shifts at The Rotunda (http://TheRotunda.org), Moonstone Arts Center http://MoonstoneArtsCenter.org, or Big Blue Marble Bookstore http://BigBlueMarbleBooks.com, let us know.

What we’re looking for is:
a) Cashiers
b) Door Persuns
c) Gophers (to go across the street to get more ice or bottled water, food etc.)
d) Stage Management
e) Fashion Models
f) Online Marketing (posting stuff on Facebook – sending emails out to your friends, Craigslist, MySpace, Twitter, etc.)
g) General Assistance (Emptying trash, helping out here and there, etc.)

How to contact to volunteer: Email your Name and Mobile/Phone Number to: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com or leave a voicemail message at 215-436-9702.


5) What Local Radio Stations Do You Listen To?
I’m scheduled to do some local radio appearances to promote BWAF – Temple Jazz 90 and WXPN 88.5 among them. If you email me suggestions of where else would be good, I’ll gladly follow through and see if they can squeeze me in. (Unless it’s suggested otherwise, I’m not planning to do internet or satellite radio shows as I found that a large number of African Americans particularly and (folks in general) do NOT get their events news from there. Radio rocks!)


Thank you for your time and attention. We hope you’ll stay as excited as we are about forthcoming events and we’ll see you next issue (in a few days, probably, with more schedule additions).

Also coming soon: Ticket Information. (Many events will be free of charge and *No One Turned Away).


*Except where otherwise noted.


In art & community,

Cassendre Xavier (aka Amethyste Rah, aka Amrita Waterfalls)
renaissance negresse & ARTrepreneur (musician/writer/visual artist/actress)
http://cassEndrExavier.com

Founder & Director of Philadelphia’s Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003)
http://BWAFphilly.org

Founder & Director of the Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series (Est. 2002)
http://WomensWritingSeries.org